June twelfth is the official Independence day of the Philippines, a national holiday. For the record, it was on this date in 1898 that Emilio Aguinaldo declared the Philippines an independent republic.
However, this republic was not recognized internationally, and after a bitter war between the partisans of Independence and the United States of America, The U.S. won, and The Philippines became an American Colony.
In 1935, however, while still under the umbrella of the United States, the Philippines became an Independent Commonwealth, with full National autonomy, with full independence guaranteed for July 4, 1946.
This newly independent Commonwealth established a democratically elected legislature, and elected Manuel Quezon as the first Commonwealth President, followed later by President Sergio Osmeña.
Finally, after four terrible years of Japanese occupation during WWII, peace was restored, and as promised, the American flag was lowered and the Philippine flag raised on July 4, 1946, and The Philippines became a fully independent republic.
The Philippines celebrated July 4th as its national Independence Day until 1964, when then President Diosdado Macapagal, in a spirit of Nationalism, changed the national Independence Day to June 12, to commemorate the ill-fated Republic that Aguinaldo had declared on that date in 1898.
Legend has it that this was motivated, in part, by the fact that since July 4th was well known as American Independence Day, President Macapagal felt that Philippine Independence Day, on the same date, tended to be ignored in international and diplomatic circles.
And so, depending on what you mean by “Independence”, and how you calculate it, the Philippines has been Independent for 115 years, or 78 years, or 67 years. But even 67 years is a long time to be on your own — three generations at the least.
And since 1946 this country has experienced many growing pains. In the early 1960’s, the Philippines was the most prosperous country in this region, second only to Japan. This prosperity was destroyed during the Marcos Dictatorship, and the country has only just recovered from that mistake. Things are better now than they have been for some time.
On this Independence Day, the Philippines has been an Independent Republic for many generations. Whatever oppression may have happened here in the past is done with. Today, one can say that the state of the country, at this moment, is a true reflection of the will of the Filipino People. Happy Birthday.
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